


Five Times Bolin Secretly Looked After Mako and One Time He Noticed

by Reidluver



Series: Fabulous Bending Brother's Collection [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: 5+1 Things, Bolin loves his big bro, Family, Fluff, Gen, Mako loves his little bro, Prompt Fic, best brothers ever, street life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reidluver/pseuds/Reidluver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Growing up, Mako focused all his time and energy into helping and looking after Bolin, leaving no regard for himself or his needs. Thankfully, Bolin was always there, taking care of him from the shadows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Food

Mako always gave Bolin more food. It took the young earthbender a little while to notice it, but hey—he was a little kid and whenever they _were_ able to get food he was a little too busy trying to stuff the small morsels into his mouth to see how much his brother was taking in comparison. When he did notice, Bolin was startled to see the difference between their portions.  No wonder his brother was so thin.

When Bolin brought it up for the first time, Mako tried to shove off the concern with an excuse that with Bolin as the younger sibling he needed more food because he was still growing. Bolin pointed out the flaw in the excuse because even though Mako was two years older, the fact remained he was still a kid as well. They actually got into a bit of a heated discussion about it—one of the few fights the brothers ever had. Mako refused to budge on the issue though, and Bolin soon grew to accept it. He came to the understanding that fighting his brother about it caused more harm than good, so despite his better judgement he agreed. Bolin did, however, get his brother to make his portions a little bigger.

And so, in order to counteract his brother’s borderline suicidal tendency, Bolin made a vow with himself to become strong and muscular. If his brother wanted to be the stupid hero and not feed himself well enough, then Bolin needed to be able to protect him. The amount of food Mako allowed himself to have only gave enough energy for him to work the odd jobs he had. Street fights were not uncommon, and even though Mako was a powerful firebender, Bolin knew that without enough energy his older brother would be a sitting turtleduck.

Bolin grew strong, and used the excuse that the ladies found men with well-defined muscles more attractive. Mako always bought his cover with an amused sigh and ruffled his hair—

—To which Bolin had no other choice but to respond with a tackle to the ground to show just how strong he was.


	2. Smile

In the beginning, Mako never smiled. To the six-year-old Bolin, he genuinely thought his brother had lost his smile. The thought horrified him, but he could never bring it up because his big brother was busy looking out for them and Bolin didn’t want to be a distraction. The last time Bolin distracted Mako his older brother fell off the trash can and hurt himself. Plus, he figured Mako had to be pretty embarrassed about losing something as important as a smile, and Bolin didn’t want to make his older brother feel bad.

But Bolin knew he had to do something—he had to get his big brother’s smile back! Only problem was he had absolutely no idea what to do; he was just a kid! Dejected, Bolin sat down in the dirt and idly drew swirls with his fingers. It was mid-day and Mako was out working at one of his jobs while Bolin was looking through trash and trying to stay out of trouble and make the hours pass by faster.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a little girl’s happy squeal. Curious, Bolin looked down the main street and saw a girl younger than him with pretty brown curls. She was jumping up and down with what looked like a brand new doll in her hand and beamed at her parents.

That was it—he needed to get a present for Mako! Bolin remembered how happy they were when their mommy and daddy gave them those new model airships from the fire nation. Of course, nothing Bolin could get Mako would be as great as that, but Bolin had to try. Bolin tried to stop the tears because he wanted to be a big boy like his brother, but he couldn’t help it. He walked a little ways away from the smelly trash can, sat against the wall, and cried.




“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Bolin hiccupped and squinted at the figure crouched down in front of him, his vision blurred. “I can’t get big brother’s smile back!” he cried. Suddenly Bolin found his tears being dried by a soft handkerchief and he glanced at the figure in awe and trepidation. She was a middle-aged lady with really dark hair. The woman gave him a warm smile before wiping his nose with the handkerchief.

“What happened to your brother’s smile?” she asked.

Bolin sniffled. “I dunno—that’s why I gots’ta get it!” He rubbed at his eyes and willed himself not to cry again. He didn’t want to look like a  _crybaby_  after all. Mako said girls didn’t like that.

“Tell you what,” the lady began, stuffing the handkerchief back into her purse, “—if you help me pack all my stuff so I can move into my new apartment, I’ll take you to go get a present for your brother as payment. Sound like a plan?”

Bolin’s mouth dropped open then he jumped up and down, clapping his hands. He was going to get his first job! A job like his big brother!

“Thank you, lady! Thank you!” He rushed forward and nearly tackled her as he wrapped his arms around her neck. “I promise to be the bestest helper  _ever!”_

The woman laughed as he pulled away. “I’m sure you will be. My name is Lanu.” She held out a hand.

“I’m Bolin!”

-

The next week passed by quickly for the six-year-old. Lanu didn’t give him work he couldn’t handle, but it was hard, especially because it was difficult to focus on one task for too long. There were times Bolin wanted to give up because his arms got really sore and heavy, but then he remembered that he was working to get Mako’s smile back.

Plus, Lanu would let him have breaks and feed him lunch and snacks. She listened attentively as Bolin told her about Mako, how much he wanted a Rabbiroo for a pet, and any other random thought that crossed his mind. She also sent him home with two slices of bread or two apples—it wasn’t much but it was enough. Bolin could tell Lanu didn’t have much money herself, and he felt a little guilty taking the food.

That feeling always disappeared though when he saw how grateful Mako looked. His brother was always so tired from his random jobs and Bolin was happy to being able to help this time around.

Finally, the day to go shopping for Mako’s present came. Lanu took Bolin to the store after she and Bolin loaded up her Satomobile. It was a secondhand shop, but Bolin didn’t understand or care. There were a lot of really cool things to look at he felt overwhelmed. How would he ever find the perfect gift for Mako? Lanu walked alongside Bolin as he sped from section to section, his enthusiasm not at all deterred by the heavy lifting he did earlier that day.

After about an hour of searching, Bolin found it. The perfect gift for Mako. It wasn’t anywhere near as cool as those model airships, but Bolin didn’t care and he knew Mako wouldn’t mind either.

-

“Thanks so much, Lanu!” Bolin said when they got ready to part ways. He moved closer and stood on his tip-toes to give Lanu a big, wet kiss on the cheek then tore out of the house, eager to show it off to his big brother.

By the time Mako  _finally_  made it back to their home, Bolin was nearly beside himself with excitement. Mako looked at him quizzically, the little boy hopping up and down with his hands behind his back . “D’you need to pee or something, Bo?”

 _“Noooo!”_  Bolin said with an exaggerated eye-roll. Honestly, sometimes his big brother was so stupid. He cleared his throat like he had heard their dad do sometimes, but only ended up coughing, causing him to miss the amused look that flickered on Mako’s face. “I gots you a present!” With a great flourish, Bolin revealed the scarf from behind his back, the hasty movement caused one of the ends to fell unfold from the rest and the tips brushed against the dirt ground. Bolin had chosen the scarf because he remembered how every night Mako came home from work shivering from the cold.

Mako’s eyes widened at the sight of the scarf and his mouth fell open. “B-Bolin how … where did you get this?” he asked, sounding a little breathless.

Eager to regale his older brother with the tale, Bolin started : “I tried to find you a present but I couldn’t find anything an’ then I met this pretty lady an’ she said she’d take me to a store it if I helped her ‘round the house an’ I did an’ it was kinda hard cuz the broom was big but I did it an’ then I cleaned this yucky stuff that smell’d real bad an’ … Mako? Mako, what’s wrong?!”

While Bolin was explaining, Mako had carefully taken the scarf from Bolin’s hands and cradled it to his chest like it was a baby. Mako stared at the scarf strangely. Then tears came to his eyes and a few ran down his cheeks, alarming Bolin.

Bolin was deeply confused and his feelings were just a little bit hurt. This was supposed to make Mako smile, not cry! Bolin’s lower lip started to quiver and tears of his own welled up in his green eyes.

Suddenly Bolin found Mako’s arms tightly wrapped around him in a hug. Now Bolin was  _really_  confused!

“Thanks, Bolin!” Mako released him and took a step back. He spent a few seconds wrapping the scarf around his neck then looked at Bolin with a the biggest smile Bolin had seen on his brother in a long time. “It’s the best present ever!”

Bolin jumped up and down with glee, unable to contain his excitement. He then pounced on his older brother and clung to him while Mako merely laughed and spun the two of them around.

He had found Mako’s smile!


	3. Human Interaction

Bolin adored his brother. He really did. He loved him more than anything in the world. Which is why he acknowledged this fact with the greatest and most sincere love and kindness—

Mako … was a dork.

Not in a bad way, mind you. In an awkward, endearing, grandmother-pinching-your-cheek sorta way. He just had a difficult time interacting with people that weren’t Bolin. _(though he was very effective when the people in question_ threatened _Bolin—but even then Mako communicated with his fire-enhanced fists rather than actual words)_

Upon reflection it made a great deal of sense. Mako was forced to become an adult when he was barely a decade old. He wasn’t really ever granted the opportunity to interact with people his own age. Not that Bolin really had the chance either, but he was better off than Mako. Before Bolin was old enough to work, he liked to go around and people-watch; see how others interacted. It was partly done to stave off boredom but it also gave him stories. They didn’t have books and Mako was too tired at night to come up with something, so Bolin filled the lonesome nights where the only warmth came from their huddled bodies and the only light from the small flickering ball of flame in Mako’s hand with stories.

Mako seemed to really enjoy the stories, so Bolin then made a game of it—trying to find the most interesting and exciting thing in the day so he’d have something fun to tell Mako about over dinner _(or not-dinner, depending on how lucky they were)._

And so Bolin didn’t fault his brother for his lack of social decorum. He understood it was just how he was and it was why Bolin decided to become Mako’s unofficial PR manager. Mako masked his discomfort in social settings by maintaining a gruff and aloof personality, and this regrettably ending up rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Thankfully, Bolin was usually able to intercept and smooth things over with his contrasting bright and energetic personality.

Bolin understood how to placate people, to make them feel comfortable and important. He also knew how to manipulate people to get what he wanted, but he never did these things in a cruel way. Bolin honestly enjoyed putting a smile on people’s faces, and when he manipulated, it was usually for good purposes, like getting the reporters off his brother’s back or _(when he was younger)_ for old women to give him food or treats that would become his and Mako’s meal for the day.

So while Mako focused on the physical side of pro-bending to help them win the matches, Bolin went around focusing on the social side. He would chat it up with fans, gaining fangirls and friends to help with their public image. Bolin would also work hard at getting reporters to focus their attention on him.

Regrettably, he wasn’t always able to be there when things got rough for Mako in social situations, but he was always there for what happened afterward.

It was in their early days of pro-bending. They had only played a few games so far, but everyone knew their name. The Fire Ferrets were predicted to go far despite them being rookies. Tonight’s match had proven this prediction, in their defeat of the Hog Monkeys—which had until now been the best in First Division. It was a brutal match though, and Hasook was in the infirmary getting treated for a bad ankle sprain.

Bolin was quite honestly exhausted from all the heckling by the reporters and was grateful for the reprieve in the locker room. It didn’t keep the smile off his face though.

“Wanna celebrate tonight’s victory, bro?” he asked, arching his back to work out the kinks.

Mako let out an amused scoff as he pulled off his armguards. “You inviting me to your date with your fangirls?”

Bolin grinned. “Why not? There are five of them—I’m sure one of ‘em wouldn’t mind being stuck with you. Probably out of pity if anything; girls seem to be big on that.” Bolin laughed as he dodged the two gloves Mako flung at him.

“I’d rather not lose my lunch watching you ‘in action,’” he said, though his tone was playful and there was a smirk on his face. “Besides, I got invited to go get drinks with the Wolfbats.”

Bolin’s mouth dropped and he paused in picking up his brother’s gloves. “Really?” he exclaimed, his voice slightly higher in tone. “As in last year’s greatest pro-bending team? _Those_ Wolfbats?!”

Mako rolled his eyes and shrugged out of the one-piece uniform and then made his way out of the locker room. “Yes, Bolin— _those_ Wolfbats. Now before you start drooling I’m only doing it to get a feel for the team we’ll eventually have to beat.”

He paused at the doorway then turned to face Bolin with a smirk on his face. “But if you want, I’m sure I could get their autographs for you so you can hang it up on your wall—”

Bolin’s thrown helmet just barely missed Mako’s head as the firebender turned the corner, his laughter echoing throughout the hallway.

Bolin returned that night in high spirits. The girls he had hung out with were very kind and were actually interested in knowing about him outside of pro-bending. While he never thought badly about his fanbase, it did get a little frustrating at times when they only looked at him as a fighter. It was a nice change to have some quality conversation.

Now with that over he was interested in learning about Mako’s night. Bolin’s knowledge of the Wolfbats came only from what he had read in the papers, so he was curious to find out what Mako observed. That Tahno guy looked all right, though he did seem a bit narcissistic.

As Bolin neared the gym that lead to the attic, he heard the tell-tale sounds of someone pummeling the punching bag. The earthbender’s shoulders sunk as he realized what that meant. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He always hated this part.

“Hey, bro!” Bolin said as he entered the gym. Sure enough, there was Mako going to town on the poor piece of equipment. It impressed him that the thing was still in relatively good condition, considering how it always became the outlet for Mako’s frustrations. Which tended to be quite frequent.

Mako’s response was a grunt and a roundhouse kick. He just stood there, his chest heaving and muscles taut with tension. Bolin slowly made his way over and stood at Mako’s side.

“That bad, huh?” he said quietly.

Mako nodded. “Tahno’s got the brains of a sea slug.” He accentuated the observation by slamming his fist into the punching bag. “It’s a wonder he has the capability for firebending.” Another punch.

Bolin kept silent, knowing that asking questions would only make Mako clam up about the experience. He listened as Mako let out a list of complaints, each one accompanied by a swift punch or kick to the punching bag, with each getting progressively more violent. Bolin knew if this wasn’t stopped soon then Mako would start shooting fireballs without meaning to.

“ … we’ll see just how smug you are when these _street rats_ kick your ass—”

So that was it then. Bolin closed his eyes for a moment in exasperation. No wonder Mako was so upset. They had kept their past a secret from the presses so far, but Bolin knew it wouldn’t last forever. Just _how_ Tahno had figured it out was something Bolin very much wanted to know, but that would have to wait.

It wasn’t until later that Bolin discovered Tahno had tricked Mako into feeling he was welcome and accepted, but that all quickly changed when Tahno started flaunting his family’s wealth and all the trainers they had hired for him. He used that fact to show how impressed he was that Mako and Bolin were able to do so well—considering their upbringing. Mako’s only course of action was to leave, because any physical or verbal altercation would have surely ended up in the papers, and Mako was all too painfully aware of how bad that would look for their image.

Now it was time for Bolin to step in.

“ _Well_ ,” he said with an over exaggerated stretch, “I’ve done nothing but sit around listening to girls all night and I still haven’t worked off the adrenaline from the match. Whaddya say to a quick spar before bed?”

Mako ceased his onslaught against the helpless punching bag and looked at Bolin in slight confusion, though at his brother’s enthusiastic nod he agreed.

The spar was an intense one, and even though it was mainly for Mako’s benefit, Bolin couldn’t help but find it was a bit therapeutic for him as well. It was sometimes hard to get his brother to really go all out against him, and Bolin liked being challenged.

And even though Bolin received an annoying burn on his thumb, the pain was worth it. Mako was smiling from the high one can only get after a great workout and the two of them playfully fought all the way upstairs.

The next morning Bolin feigned surprise when the main headline in the newspaper the next morning was of the mysterious vandalizing of Tahno’s satomobile. Earthbending was suspected, but there were no witnesses of the incident. Mako didn’t suspect him, and there was a wide grin on Mako’s face the rest of the day.


	4. Midnight Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So . . . this was actually written a long while ago but I forgot about it. Oops?

The first few months … were terrible.

Neither of them had any idea what they were doing or how to do it. While their family wasn’t rich, they weren’t poor either. There was always food on the table, a nice warm bed to sleep in, and lots of laughs and smiles.

Now there was none of that.

Now they had to scrounge for their food, fight for a place to sleep, and any laughs or smiles were forced and fake. Mako was constantly stressing about money and trying to find a job, but work was hard to find when you were just eight-years-old. Well—decent work, anyway. Mako was able to find some work, but the pay he received for the long, _grueling_ hours wasn’t worth it.

Yet it was their only option, so he worked.

Bolin did his best to help, but with him being even younger than Mako it was impossible for him to get a paying job. He was stuck with sneaking around public places and snatching fallen yuans or sifting through the trash for meals. But Bolin’s real job _(at least for the first little while anyway)_ —was at night.

Mako hadn’t fully explained what happened that night to him yet, but Bolin understood that their parents were never coming back, and Mako had been there when it happened. During the day Mako acted like nothing was wrong, but at night he was defenseless.

The nightmares didn’t occur every night _(aside from the first week)_ but it happened at least three times a week for the first two months. Bolin would be rudely awoken by his brother’s thrashing. He would then struggle to pull his bigger brother toward him, hug him tightly, and rub his back like mommy used to do. Each time Mako would scream and cry about things Bolin didn’t completely understand, but he could understand his brother’s pain well enough. Many times his tears would mix with Mako’s as they both wept for the parents that had been so unjustly ripped from them.

Mako never spoke about the nightmares, but Bolin supposed it had to do more with the fact that Mako was always asleep rather than him saving his pride and trying to pretend it never happened. Bolin figured it was for the better, because Mako always wanted to act like such a grown-up even though Bolin just wanted him to smile and laugh and play with him like before.

Now that they were older and their lives were more or less in order, the nightmares rarely resurfaced. They only came back on the anniversary of their parent’s death, and suffice it to say, the years hadn’t diminished the grief.

Tonight, however, Mako broke tradition.

Bolin was already awake, having been unable to sleep after the entire fiasco with being captured by the Equalists. The previous night he had been able to get some rest, but now after being _this close_ to having his bending taken away _(forever)_ sleep was hard to come by. Plus his chest still burned after being shocked with those electric rods.

He glanced over at his brother’s still form on the cot a few feet away from him. Mako was dead to the world, which Bolin figured only made sense, even though he knew his brother’s injuries had to be hurting him as well.

When they arrived home after getting their burns looked at, the two of them had actually gotten into a heated discussion regarding Bolin’s “adventure.” Thankfully, they were able to work past it, with Bolin promising to make smarter decisions from then on and Mako agreeing to let Bolin find a more stable form of work so he could help with the expenses.

Bolin was just about to doze off when Mako cried out. It was so unexpected Bolin nearly fell off his bed. Once he got his bearings he glanced at his brother and rushed over in an all too familiar fashion. Bolin sat on the cot and pulled Mako toward his chest, resting his older brother’s head on his shoulder while Bolin buried his face into Mako’s neck.

Mako immediately curled his body against Bolin’s and embraced him tightly, leaving Bolin rather surprised. Usually his brother was a lot more violent during these nightmares and he had to evade flailing limbs.

It was only when Bolin heard his own name alongside their parents’ did he understand. He froze for a moment then gripped his brother tighter. “I’m … I’m so sorry,” he whispered. _“I’m so sorry, Mako.”_

He knew his actions yesterday had been foolish and already deeply regretted it, but it wasn’t until now that Bolin realized just how great of an effect they had on Mako. It was obvious to him, as he listened to his brother’s wails, that Mako had truly felt he was going to lose Bolin. It didn’t matter if it was a fleeting or subconscious fear—Mako had believed it for a moment all the same. And while Mako had already forgiven him, Bolin couldn’t help but feel a sharp twist of guilt.

After he learned the full story of their parents’ death, Bolin gained an all new respect for his older brother. To have survived witnessing their murder and then be able to look after someone else and survive … it was the kind of strength that Bolin wondered if he could ever possess.

And to know that because of his poor decision that strength had been weakened and the terrors of Mako’s mind were triggered—Bolin knew this was a hard lesson to learn. But at least he knew how to fix it.

Normally, Bolin didn’t wake Mako up from his nightmares, because if he did then Mako would try to get his emotions back under control and suppress them. So while it seemed cruel, not waking up Mako gave him the chance to _feel_ that he normally wouldn’t permit himself.

In this situation though, Bolin had to wake him. He needed to prove to Mako that he would always be there. It was the least he could do.

“Hey … hey Mako, wake up.” He gently shook the firebender and helped him sit upright. “Wake up, bro.”

Mako looked dazed and still half asleep. He was slouched forward and relied a lot on Bolin’s arms around his shoulder to stay up. He blinked his bleary eyes and stared at Bolin, who smiled in return and reached out with one hand to wipe away some tears.

“You okay, now?” he said gently.

_“ … Please don’t leave me, Bo.”_

It was the same, broken voice Bolin heard that night, all those years ago. And like then, Bolin kissed his brother’s forehead and said—

_“I’ll never leave you, Mako. I promise.”_


	5. Pabu

When eleven-year-old Bolin begged his brother to let him keep the bedraggled fire ferret, it was only partially for selfish reasons. Okay, fine—it was totally for selfish reasons. But only at the beginning. Then once Bolin got over his excitement in having a pet of his very own, he was able to see other benefits as well.

Despite his initial displeasure, Mako warmed up to the little fire ferret rather quickly. Bolin didn’t know if it had to do with the fact that he was a firebender or what, but it didn’t matter. Pabu was a great help in Bolin’s constant struggle to get Mako to smile more.

And sometimes Bolin would catch his brother speaking to Pabu late at night. Mako would absentmindedly stroke Bolin’s hair as he did so, a habit he had learned would help Bolin fall asleep whenever he was fussy when he was younger. _  
_

It was at that point at night that Mako would speak of his fears and worries to Pabu. Even with his eyes closed, Bolin could see the suffering in Mako’s face as he despaired about things one his age shouldn’t even know about.

To be honest, it stung a little to know that his brother felt more comfortable talking about his doubts to the fire ferret than him, but Bolin understood that his brother was only trying to be strong for Bolin’s sake. He wished he could make Mako understand that he’d never think any less of him, but he wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing so yet, so for now this was good enough. Mako needed someone to confide in or he’d burst.

Pabu also had another use—pranking! This had certainly more selfish intentions, but all that mattered in the end was that Mako benefited right? Perhaps not in the way he’d prefer, but Bolin rather felt that if Mako knew what was best for his younger brother, then shouldn’t the opposite be true?

One of Bolin’s favorite pranks involved him sneaking something cold to Pabu, who would then hold it in his mouth and crawl up Mako’s leg to settle around his neck.  He didn’t suspect anything until after a wink from Bolin, Pabu dropped the item down the back of Mako’s shirt. 

Needless to say, Bolin never understood why Mako avoiding dancing. True, his form could use a little work, but Bolin had see enough of Mako jumping around and flailing to see his potential…or rather lack thereof. Mako’s back was always so stiff, and Bolin was just doing him a favor.

Wasn’t Mako lucky to have him for a brother?


End file.
